Monday, July 20, 2015

"Probation Generally Available"

Also from Kirk --

Whoa.

The SAFE Justice Reinvestment Act of 2015 is quite the
thing. We will cover separate parts in separate posts. But the Act hits the
reset button on the federal criminal justice system. Boehner
endorses it. So does Obama.
So does the Police
Foundation. Speculation
is that the bill will pass. It has “more
momentum that anyone realizes.”

Let’s start with Section 302 of the Act. Subsection (a)(1)
begins with the words “Probation Generally Available”. It really does. Here is
the language.

(a) In General.—

“(1) PROBATION GENERALLY AVAILABLE.—Except as provided
in paragraph (2), a defendant who has been found guilty of an offense may be
sentenced to probation.

“(2) GENERAL
EXCEPTIONS.—A defendant may not be sentenced to probation if—

“(A) the offense is a Class A or Class B felony and the
defendant is an individual;

“(B) the
offense is an offense for which probation has been expressly precluded; or

“(C) the
defendant is sentenced at the same time to a term of imprisonment for the same
or a different offense that is not a petty offense.

“(3) PRESUMPTION
OF PROBATION FOR CERTAIN OFFENDERS.—The court shall sentence an otherwise
eligible defendant to probation, if the defendant is a first-time Federal
offender whose place of residence allows for Federal probation supervision and
who did not engage in violent conduct as a part of the offense, unless the
court, having considered the nature and circumstances of the offense and the
history and characteristics of the defendant, finds on the record that a term
of probation would not be appropriate. However, a defendant convicted of a
Federal sex offense, as described in section 111 of the Sex Offender
Registration and Notification Act, is not subject to a presumption of probation
under this paragraph.”